God’s Sense of Humour?

God has a sense of humour. Many heroic stories in the Old Testament have a humorous side to them. For example, judging the worthiness of a soldier by the method he uses to drink water is rather funny. Or, having the child David use his slingshot against an experienced warrior – and getting away with it – is even funnier!

For those who are in the mood to hear a funny story, here is one called ‘The Battle of the Pins’. Unfortunately, we cannot find any historical proof to verify it, but it is fondly remembered and given to us by a Traditional Catholic:

The Battle of the Pins

In England of years gone by, there was a time when Catholics were prevented from going to church for political reasons. The guards stood in front of the church door preventing regular worship from taking place. Because the Catholic men prudently cooperated and duly stayed away from church, the women decided to take matters into their own hands. At a special signal, the women removed a pin from their hats and, pin in hand, walked fast towards the church door, each jabbing a guard in the arm. The guards screamed in pain and, in the general confusion that followed, the women ran inside the church, thereby encouraging their menfolk to throw prudence to the wind and to join them inside the church. Victory was won, and the people regained their right to enter their church!

The Battle of the Pins proved that wit and ingenuity were stronger than prudence and fear. But, more importantly, the Battle of the Pins proved that a mere hatpin – about 8 cm long and intended to hold hats and veils in women’s hair – was an instrument humorously used by God to get the people back on track.

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I would like to conclude with a story that is not quite so funny but again illustrates that God can use ‘little Davids’ to get His point across.

The fact that communism was ousted from Brazil is well known, but what is not so well known is how it was ousted:

At one point in the history of Brazil, the capital of Sao Paulo was taken over by communist leaders. The people were against communism but did not know what to do. The solution came from the Catholic women, who, with their children, took to the streets, praying the Rosary loudly for three days. Many people joined the women with the result that the streets of Sao Paulo looked like waves of people praying the Rosary. The result was that the communists packed up and left the country.

So once again, God uses methods that seem unusual or even funny in order to encourage us and to accomplish what seems humanly impossible.

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Like Gideon’s soldiers, let us do our part, and God will provide the victory!